Wireless communication computer controlled display devices are now pervasive, numbering in the hundreds of millions if not billions throughout the world. These devices include virtually all laptop computers, hand held computers, display smart phones, video game devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPads™ and almost any mobile communication display device, are enabled to be wireless through Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) technology, i.e. IEEE 802.11 protocol technology. The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global association of companies, government agencies and educational institutions, has standardized these IEEE 802.11 protocols into the Wi-Fi implementation. The IEEE 802.11 wireless transmission protocols are discussed in greater detail at pp. 60-62 in the text, Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networking, SAMS Division of MacMillan Computer Publishing, Indianapolis, Ind., 1999, pp. 49-62; as well as in the article, A Wireless Local Area Network Protocol That Improves Throughput Via Adaptive Control, B. E. Mullins et al., Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Communications, pp. 1427-1431, June 1997. The short range transmissions from transceivers in the display devices can operate within facility areas from 10 to 100 meters in diameter from central or optimally located facility transceivers, called hotspots or access points, in the Wi-Fi network connections to the Internet. These hotspots are often provided free of charge at community facilities such as hotels, restaurants, libraries and airports. On the other hand, individual users may obtain Wi-Fi access through Wi-Fi providers through routers set up in the users' homes or businesses. Such routers provide the Wi-Fi user subscriber with a line modem or cable modem to an access point.
In addition, all of the above-described wireless communication computer controlled display devices are enabled to subscribe to a global positioning system (GPS) to generate and display on the devices defined area maps for the areas within which the GPS has located the display device position. Global positioning is a well known and developed system that uses groups of three satellites that receive signals from the moving unit being positioned and use this signal data to triangulate and, thus, position the moving unit.
GPS is now extensively used to create travel/shopping maps displayed on GPS implemented wireless display devices that display maps of a defined area with traffic and objects of interest information provided from a GPS satellite. GPS is described in the article, Navigate with a Tablet PC and Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 With GPS Locator, Tony Northrup, April 2005, and available on the Internet at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/tablepc/learnmore/n orthrup_navigate.mspx.
Such GPS mapping systems are installed on a large share of the current mobile wireless display devices. From such maps, the mobile user, either walking or riding in a motor vehicle, may get routing information and, to a greater extent, information about mapped objects of interest representative of restaurants, hotels, stores, historical, civic and like objects of interest to the mobile consumer.
These GPS mapping services are provided by a GPS provider to the users of the mobile wireless display devices at appropriate fees and are, likewise, provided to restaurants, hotels, stores and like businesses and organizations at appropriate fees for their respective mapped objects. While these displayed GPS maps have been highly successful in helping the traveler with routing, sightseeing and facility services information, there does remain a mapping aspect for which improvement is being sought. There have been limits on the ability for GPS to provide instantaneous or immediate updates or changes with respect to the mapped objects and their ancillary displayed information. In order to update the GPS displayed maps, the organizations or facilities represented by the mapped objects must communicate the changed information to the GPS service provider, which, in turn, will format suitable changes to the map displayed for the defined area. Such updates may take hours, if not a day or two. The disadvantage of such delays in mapped routes is obvious when such changes are the result of road emergencies or construction changes that will cause delays or bypasses. However, businesses often have similar needs for immediate updates. Hotels may become booked up and suddenly have rooms available or a store may have a sudden sale. The present invention is directed to supplementing current GPS mapping functions with implementations for displaying information of immediate or instantaneous interest.